A seemingly ordinary Thursday morning in Jikwoyi, Abuja, turned tragic when a dispute over a plate of noodles allegedly escalated into a fight in which an 18-year-old boy, Kefas Seun, reportedly struck his 22-year-old elder brother, Sunday, with a mortar pestle.

Sunday reportedly died from injuries sustained during the altercation, leaving the family in shock and Kefas in police custody.

The incident occurred at about 6:05 a.m. at the family’s residence in Phase 4, Jikwoyi, a community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to the family’s seven-year-old son, Miracle, the trouble began shortly after Kefas woke up and discovered that the Indomie meal he had prepared earlier was missing.

Miracle said Kefas first approached their mother, Mama Sunday, to ask if she knew who had eaten the food.

He said their mother denied knowing anything about the meal and advised Kefas to wait until Sunday woke up so he could ask him whether he had eaten it.

Mama Sunday subsequently left home for work at about 5:50 a.m., leaving her husband, Sunday and Miracle behind.

Miracle alleged that about 20 minutes after their mother left, Kefas woke Sunday and asked him about the food, leading to an argument that quickly escalated into a fight.

According to the boy, Kefas picked up a mortar pestle and struck Sunday in the face, causing him to bleed heavily from his nose and mouth before collapsing.

“I quickly rushed to wake up my father. When he got to the room where my senior brother and Kefas were fighting, Sunday was lying motionless on the mattress,” Miracle said.

The commotion attracted the attention of neighbours, one of whom said Sunday’s father immediately sought the assistance of members of the community vigilante group.

The vigilantes accompanied him back to the house and allegedly arrested Kefas, while his father proceeded to Jikwoyi Police Station to report the incident.

Another neighbour identified simply as Abdulfatai, said police officers later arrived at the residence, photographed the scene and took Kefas into custody.

He said the suspect’s father accompanied the officers to the station to give his statement, while Kefas remained in detention.

“The incident occurred at about 6:05 a.m., and the police returned to collect the remains at about 1:30 p.m. the same day,” Abdulfatai said.

Meanwhile, a community leader, who asked not to be named, said Sunday had faced difficulties in the months preceding his death.

According to the leader, community elders had become concerned about Sunday’s unemployment and decided to help him secure an apprenticeship at a mechanical engineering firm.

“We went on a funding appeal to residents within the community, and we were able to raise N70,000, which was handed over to Sunday to use for his transportation fare to and from work,” he said.

The community leader alleged that Sunday later stopped attending the apprenticeship and spent the money on drugs, prompting some residents to withdraw their support.

At Jikwoyi Police Station on Thursday, a police officer, who requested anonymity, confirmed that Kefas was in custody and that preliminary investigations had commenced.

The officer said Sunday’s remains had been deposited at a mortuary pending an autopsy.

He added that the case would be transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department of the FCT Police Command for further investigation.

When contacted on Friday, the FCT Police spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, was unavailable for comment.

A message sent to her phone had not been answered as of press time.

In previous public advisories, Adeh had urged young people to exercise emotional discipline, embrace responsible citizenship and avoid behaviours that could expose them to criminality.

She had also advised youths to develop skills in anger and conflict management while shunning illicit activities, including drug abuse, criminal associations and vandalism.

For the family in Jikwoyi, what began as a seemingly trivial disagreement over a meal ended within minutes in an irreversible tragedy.